“Islamophobia”
Further References:
http://www.introductiontoislam.org/
http://smarthistory.khanacademy.or
g/overview-of-islam.html
Introduction to
Islam
http://www.greenstar.org/Islam/
Many Muslims today face
“Islamophobia.” This term refers to the
discrimination and fear towards the religion
of Islam.
This has grown since the events on
September 11, 2001 when Muslim
extremists from the terrorist group AlQaeda hijacked American air planes and
flew them into the twin towers.
It is important to realize that these
extremists do not represent the religion of
Islam as a whole. There are extremists in
every religion on the world, but they do
not speak for the majority. Islam is a
peaceful religion based on discipline,
tradition and peace. There needs to be
more education in the world today in order
to end Islamophobia which is one of the
reasons for this pamphlet.
Works Cited:
An Introduction to Islam.Web. 5 Oct.
2014.
<http://eawc.evansville.edu/essays/h
ussain.htm>.
Intro to Islam.Web. 5 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.al-islam.org/
articles/an-introduction-to-islamsayyid-muhammad-rizvi>.
What is Islam? About Religion. Web. 5
Oct. 2014. <http://islam.about.com/
od/basicbeliefs/p/intro.htm>.
John Doe
International Studies
Period 6
Mr. Barile
Rules and Practices
Muslims are expected to follow many
practices in order to grow closer to
Allah. The most important practices
are outlined in the “5 Pillars of
Islam.”
1. Public Declaration of Faith
2. Pray 5 Times per Day
God of Abraham
Muslims are monotheistic, which
means they believe in one true god.
They believe in the God of Abraham,
whom they refer to as “Allah”. This is
the same God that both Jews and
Christians worship. According to
Muslim teachings, God made a
covenant with Abraham, promising to
bless Abraham’s future descendants.
3. Fast during Ramadan
4. Give 2.5% of Worth to Charity
5. Pilgrimage to Mecca
Rules and Practices
All Muslims are expected to go on
the Hajj. This is a trip to the city of
Mecca located in Saudi Arabia.
Muslims are expected to go on the
Hajj at least once in their lifetime.
They choose to go on this holy
journey as a way to recreate the
many of the steps of the journey that
they believe that Mohammed took to
Mecca.
One of the major events on the Hajj
is the circling of the Kaaba. The
Kaaba is a holy structure that
Muslims visit. Some believe that it
was built by Abraham as a
commandment by God.
Muslims circle to Kaaba 7 times.
Some get close enough to touch this
holy structure. This is an exciting
time as Muslims pray facing the
Kaaba 5 times every day.
Mohammed
Worship
The holy book of Islam is the Quran.
The Quran includes many of the
stories of the Old Testament of the
Christian Bible. It also includes
messages revealed to the Prophet
Mohammed. Muslims believe that
when Mohammed was 40 years old, he
was visited by the Angel Gabriel who
revealed new messages from God,
including more stories about the life of
Jesus Christ. Muslims consider
Mohammed God’s final great prophet.
Muslims worship in a holy building
called a mosque. These are led by a
spiritual leader called an imam.
Imams are selected from Muslims who
are most knowledgeable in the
teachings of the Quran. Unlike
Christian priests and pastors, they
have full time jobs outside of being a
worship leader. Worship services
consist of praying, reading the Quran
and listening to a sermon.